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Diary of the High Priest
- The Beginning
- Well I travelled to this small barony to oversee some minor church matters and seem to have gotten embroiled in some very great things. I have joined a group of adventurers and saved some farmers from the hordes of evil lizard folk. Then there seems to have been someproblem with the local rulers and the king arrived to sort it out and we had to sit in judgement.
Now it sems we have travelled into the unknown western reaches to discover the cuase of a town dissappearance and a great unnatural darknes that has fallen over the land and sems to be slowly spreading. Hopefully the people can be saved, if not all thats left is vengeance..and the need to see evil destroyed before it harms more people.Attacking the Darkness Well the king held his court and I was there as in an official capacity as well as for my own interest. we then left to investigate the town and encountered the blind woman. and had her escorted back to town.
Now we went through some sort of portal into some otherworld or plane of existence. we have much to do and many things to set right. I hope we are up to the task and worthy of St. Cuthbert, may his name be praised.Defeat of the Shader-Kai We defeated the overlord? Well in any case we defeated a thoroughly nasty and repulsive, not to mention powerful Shader-Kai. I nearly died and several others did. I am raising the ones i can and seeing to the dwarf since he returned as undead and is beyond my help.
The townsfolk are returned to thier homes and I will look in on them on occasion to see what can be done to assuage the dark dreams I feel certain some of them are having from the ordeal. There is food enough and thier possesions are still in thier homes so all is as it well as can be expected for the moment.
Now we go to the Capital! The King arrived in Gayleboro and demanded an audience with us, during which he "asked" us to accompany him to his castle for diplomatic reasons. It seems the country has been at peace with its neighbors long enough that the military as well as the commoner needs to see HEROES.
Are we the heroes they need? For some of our group I have serious doubts as to what that heroism might be. Although some of us are certainly heroes, all of us will suffice for what the king wants of us. He needs us more as a show of force to the neighboring kingdoms than for heroics. Not that averting a war through diplomacy isn't heroic, I actually prefer that to the danger war poses to the populace.
If a show of solidarity and force by some of the up and coming stars of our country and the skills of battle (especially Keleth and some of the others)can stop a war before it starts so much the better. It leaves us to do what we do best, which is root out evil and destroy it, safeguarding not just our kingdom but sometimes the world.
Now that we have arrived in the Capital I shall have to see to the temple and make sure things are right there. If not that is something I will attend to before we leave.The Capital I miss Gaylesboro already. We have been here, in the Capital for less than a day and already I would rather be back where my skills are useful for something other than the telling of stories.
I realize what we are doing is necessary at this time. That heroes are needed and violence has its place in politics as well as fighting evil. I just do not feel that politics is the best use of our collective talents.The Eastern Barony Well, we have arrived in the capital. Things seem to be going smoothly enough, although seeing lord Grissom having turned into rather more than twice the man he was came as something of a shock.. and that he blames me for it even more of a shock. You would think he would finally fiure out the blame lies within himself. I do wonder about the constant eating though, perhaps he is under an enchantment or curse, if this is the case he certainly does not deserve that and I suspect his friend the wizard.
The Baron of the eastern barony has asked for help with the ogres it seems they have been pillaging villages and breaking a treaty. I am not sure I approve of a treaty with creatures as evil as ogres, but if it stops them from killing innocents......
We investigated the villages and fought offan attack of ogres who appear to have been summoned. My instincts scream at me to kill all the ogres and orcs and hten find the wizard who is sumoning more of the vile creaturess to start a war. This is impractical, I know it but my feelings lay with Keleth just the same. My instincts also warn me that as much as I might think that Grissom's friend the wizard is behind this.. it could be the Shader-kai yet again, or even some other menace not yet identified. We travel dangerous territory and not just because of the creatures that inhabit the mountains. Our careers in adventuring have left us ill prepared to deal with the politics of court. Cuthbert, may his name be praised, know we will do our best.. I just fear that our best will lead to an unfortunate amount of bloodshed. On the morrow we shall meet with the ogre chief and the baron and attempt to establish a new treaty and keep the orcs from the borders. If things go badly.. of Keleth has a bad day, then all the ogres may die and we will then have to slay the orcs as well. I would hate to have to be the new border guard here in the east becasue we were overzealous, I much prefer the north and Baron Varik's company.
I must say though that the sub chief who used Cuthbert's teachings as a threat to the vilagers when he said they were good at retribution, almost cuased me to act rashly and kill him on the spot. If he missteps again he will see exactly how Cuthbert deals with his kind. Perhaps I should challenge him in personal combat.The Eastern Treaty. HMMM, things do not seem to go as hoped. We met the ogres and convinced the Baron to meet the ogres and then led the baron into a trap dsigned to kill us and him. It almost succeeded, and I find that distressing, although not as distressing as Grigg seems to have found his breif journey into the afterlife. I wonder where his soul went that left him so upset.
It turns out all of this was a plot by Grissom to destabilize the Eastern barony and kill the baron so he could take it over. He is slime and deserves to die. Prison did not seem to be enough since he escaped from it to another plane thanks to the aid of some demons.
One bright spot in all this is the fact that our rapid response to threats and violent behavior is sure to convince the king that we lack the necessary subtle skills to make decent diplomats. He has decided that we should return to the North and Help Baron Varik in ways that best suit our talents.
One thing I did learn on this last foray. If I am to be in combat as often as I have of late I need better armor. Since we will have some time upon our return I shall set about enchanting some armor and a shield, peraps even a scroll or two for use in an emergency.Return to the North We have made our return to the north and Baron Varik's demesne without incident and without much fanfare. After the days at court this is a welcome change. I managed to use this quiet time to make some armor blessed by Cuthbert so I can better perform my duties.
Lately I have begun wondering if I am doing my best to serve him. Should I be more agressive in my dealing with others, or more vocal in recruiting converts? But, I think, perhaps he has priests better suited to thos tihngs and my best use of my skills at this time is in aiding these others to fight evil. Although I begin to have doubts about Grigg. I ressurected him from the dead and hiscontinued violent outbursts frighten me. He may suddenly take offense at a peasant and slay them, this would be both wrong and bad in several ways.
Today we embarked upon a journey when a huntsman told Grigg he had found a door in the forest. We went thereand apparently its a tomb of some unknown necromancer. We entered and dispatched some skeletonsand a vampire. Now I fear we have awakened this Necromancer Lich and hope we can slay him before unleashing his power on the countryside.Necromancer lich well I feel better now, this time we found a great evil and defeated it. This makes me feel much beter about desecrating the tombs of the dead. We slew a vampire and a lich as well as someother od creatures and some undead. Emile felt he needed to animate one of the creatures into an undead servant but i quickly put a stop to that. Some of the group has made many jokes about my choices for turning or physical combat agaisnt the undead, but their ways are not the ways of a preist and they speak in ignorance. Besides if there cannot be some levity between friends who place thier lives in each other hands we are all doomed to lead boring lives anyway.
There have been somethings I have noticed lately that I shall attempt to address in the near future. One concerns the pass we just cleared yet again. I think I and the temple need to establish an outpost there to guard the way, and perhaps add a few coppers to the coffers to help other endeavors. I also think there should be a temple in Gaylesboro overseen by a preist more suitable for that duty I, perhaps one that follows more closely the Protection and Law aspects of St. Cuthbert. In keeping with that idea an orphanage for children who lost thier parents to the depradations of monsters or war and a half way house for others who need a helping hand to get started again. I shall give them both thought and present them to Baron Varik.Thoughtful interlude I have done a disservice to one who traveled with us. I had forgotten my promise of finding that lovely and talented cook a position. I had intended on hiring her for myself and the rest of our group, but perhaps the Baron Varik's service would better suit her. As long as she does not mind cooking for us on special occasions. I will speak to the Baron about having her as head cook or perhaps something even more suitable such as a lady in waiting if the Baron has a daughter or wife. Strange I serve him and yet know little about him. This too shall need remedied.
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